


Unravel

by Kerkerian



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Aftermath, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empathy, Episode: s03e22 Ho'opio (To Take Captive), Friends to Lovers, Grief, M/M, Romance, mcdanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 23:30:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14964308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: After the Amanda Morris case, Danny is rather shaken. Steve takes care of him in the only way he can think of.





	Unravel

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Five-0.

 

It's late when Danny knocks on Steve's door, but it's not unexpected. He looks dishevelled and small, hunched in on himself and not even meeting his partner's gaze, and Steve doesn't have to ask; he just grabs Danny's sleeve and pulls him into the house, into his arms. Danny doesn't protest, in fact burrows his face into Steve's chest until the world is reduced to Steve's scent around him, his calm, solid presence a reminder that life as he knew it still exists even though he sometimes fails to understand it. Nevertheless, he can't stop shaking, just as he couldn't stop thinking about Amanda Morris' parents and the hell they've gone through for the past ten years. The hell they're going through now. The hell Amanda went through, and how her hope was in vain. How she lay in that shallow grave, never had a chance at life.

Sadly, Steve smiles into Danny's hair; being able to feel as much empathy as Danny usually does can bring one to one's knees, but this case is the epitome of his partner's own fears, the worst thing he can probably imagine. So he isn't surprised when the tremors won't abate, when Danny still holds on to him for dear life ten minutes later, even though Steve's been trying to calm him with softly murmured words and one hand moving in slow circles between his shoulder blades.

Time for a different approach, then. Slowly, Steve begins to walk backwards, firmly holding on to his charge who doesn't even seem to notice or simply doesn't care, until they're outside, walks across the lanai and down to the beach. Here, in the darkness, he briefly lets go of Danny, who immediately makes an odd noise, soft and keening, and Steve hurries as he slides out of his clothes. He nudges Danny's feet until he can slip off his shoes, unbuttons his shirt with his mouth against his partner's forehead, nuzzling and telling him it's okay, he'll be all right, and opens his belt and his pants, just gives them a little push and allow gravity to do the rest. When they're both only wearing their boxers, he winds his arms around Danny again, Danny who's shivering in the slight breeze, who didn't once protest against any of this. Danny, who trusts him. Who feels marvellous like this, all soft skin and so vulnerable in his near-nakedness.

Steve feels his own heart beating like a drum as they slowly make their way into the shallows, knees bumping against one another's because of their uncoordinated walk, toes digging into the wet sand before the water laps at their feet. It's momentarily cool but soon feels rather pleasant.

Danny shivers again, pressing himself more firmly against Steve, who is a furnace. Who gently turns him around in his grip so that his chest is pressed against Danny's back, holds on to him, moves in further until he's submerged to his shoulders and Danny's not even able to stand any longer.

The water's perfectly calm though, an endless black mirror for the pale moon, gentle and caressing. And Danny inexplicably doesn't feel any terror or anxiety at being in the ocean, in the middle of the night at that, because Steve's arms around him are strong and holding on tightly. Steve is keeping him safe. He can allow himself to float, the back of his head on his partner's shoulder, can stop thinking as he's not bound to gravity any longer, as if his sorrows did actually sink and drown while Steve is keeping him at the surface. For a blessed while, all there is are the ininitesimal sounds of the water against their bodies, the stars high above them, the exquisite feeling of being carried by an element he usually is rather wary of.

 

At one point, Steve ever so gently pulls him closer, turns him around, and Danny puts his arms around his neck unthinkingly. Steve's nuzzling at his forehead again, then at his cheek, tasting the salt on his skin, a droplet of water in the corner of his mouth, his lips. And Danny finds himself nudging back, wanting more contact, wanting more of Steve. So he follows his movements until their mouths meet, and the kiss is soft and tender, salty and sweet.

Danny doesn't realize that he's crying at first, too vivid are the pictures of the dead girl in his mind and the haptic memory of how fragile Grace felt this afternoon when he interrupted her cheer class just for a hug, but then Steve moves to kiss his tears away and that is the moment in which he knows, irrevocably, that he is in love with his man, and that it's not only the prospect of losing Grace which has made this case so personal for him, but also the fear of losing Steve. It's always been there ever they met, increasing in intensity the longer they knew each other, but the first time it felt like actual terror was when Steve went to North Korea with Jenna Kaye. Danny was painfully aware that he nearly lost Steve then, and it still haunts him sometimes. That Steve might disappear just like his brother did, never to be heard of again. He always thought that he'd kill himself if anything ever happened to Grace, but it seems that she isn't the only one whom he just can't face living without.

Steve holds him close, tightens his grip around him and mutters some soothing nonsense in his hair until Danny's finally calming down. He presses his face against Steve's, eyes closed: “Don't let go, okay.”

It isn't a question.

“I won't.” Steve cups Danny's neck with his hand: “As long as you won't.”

It isn't a question either.

They're still kissing as Steve slowly walks towards the shore, Danny's legs around his hips, and they don't make it further than the beach, where Steve lays Danny down. The sand is cool and they're both wet, but it doesn't matter, this moment is theirs, a welcome respite from the day they've come from. Steve's warm weight on his body is quivering and delicate as Danny kisses the goosebumps on his skin.

Later, as they shower together, it will all feel different again, another kind of new and exciting. For now, they stay here, just the two of them in the dark, far from reality and its countless tribulations.

 

The End

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> The title is inspired by "I Follow Rivers" (Triggerfinger): "(...) be the ocean where I unravel (...)"


End file.
